Egg Tally for July

Queen of Eggland

Thank you, Queenie, for giving us 20 eggs last month. You will never win an egg laying contest in this flock, but you're the clear winner when it comes to beauty. That's why you're number one in my book and the queen of Poultry Palace.

Princess Lay-a

Well done, Princess. You laid 27 eggs in July. Even though the heat set you back a bit, you didn't let it it knock you off your game completely. I'm very happy with your results. And, I'd be even happier if you would learn to stay off the back porch and out of my geraniums.

Duchess of Yolk

Settle down, Duchess. There's no need to ruffle your feathers. You are Hen of the Month once again with a total of 28 eggs. You also laid the largest egg. It's not the biggest you've ever laid, but it's a respectable 1.87 ounces. When the weather cools off, I'll be expecting you to reach the 2 ounce mark...no pressure, though.

That makes a grand total of 71 eggs for July—just one egg shy of six dozen. Not too shabby, girls, not too shabby.

How Many Eggs in June?

The grand total of eggs collected from the Royal Hens of Poultry Palace in June was 78.

Egg collecting is a favorite pastime of the toddler set. Just ask Myles.

That's six less than in May and is to be expected during the hot summer months.

I'm not sure how, but not a single egg was broken in the process. 

Queenie gave us 24 eggs. Princess and Duchess are tied at 27 each.

The quicker we get there the more fun it will be. Rose was a joyful helper.

It all comes down to the largest egg laid to break the tie.

Queenie is out of the running, but for the record her largest egg in June weighed 1.73 ounces.
Princess Lay-a's largest egg was 1.80 ounces. And, Duchess beat them both with an egg weighing 1.94 ounces.

Congratulations, Duchess of Yolk, you win the Hen of the Month award for June! Extra mealworms coming your way.

Watermelon Hits the Spot

The Poultry Palace hens had their first taste of watermelon this week.

It didn't take them long to figure out an ice cold watermelon 

hits the spot on a hot summer day.

I could tell Princess wanted the whole thing for herself.

But she let Queenie have some

and Duchess, too.

Queenie received a nip from Princess for daring to eat alone.

Together the three of them ate, and ate, and ate, 

until all that was left

was a watermelon smile on the lawn.

Keeping My Eye on This One

She looks innocent enough, right?

Duchess running to me for a mealworm treat.

Well, there's something you don't know about Duchess.

I only learned about it recently.

It seems she loves kale.

Remember that kale we planted? That's all it now—a memory.

I mean she REALLY LOVES kale.

She ate every kale plant in the garden right down to the stems.

I caught her as she was finishing up the last leaf.

I can't blame her, really.

She was only doing what chickens do.

It was our fault for not putting up a barrier to keep her out of the garden.

I forgive her.

No ma'am, not the bluebonnets!

But I'm drawing the line at my bluebonnet flowers.

I'm keeping my eye my on this one.

They're Getting Good at This

It's another three egg day.

Brought to you by...

The Royal Flock of Poultry Palace: Duchess of Yolk, Princess Lay-a, and Queen of Eggland.

Nice work girls!

Egg Watch in Effect

Friday was an exciting day in the Poultry Palace coop.

Duchess of Yolk laid her first egg!

I went to the coop early that morning and found three eggs in the nest—one from each hen. We think Duchess laid the one in the middle. Her egg and Queenie's (top) are so similar, it's hard to know for sure. Princess lays darker brown eggs (bottom) than both those two, so it's easy to tell it apart.

Once again, I'll have to watch the girls closely to see if I can figure this out. Egg watch is now in effect.

There were two eggs laid on Saturday (P & Q) and two on Sunday (P & ?).

Not until this morning did Duchess lay an egg that I know for sure is hers. I collected it after she left the nest box and before Queenie had a chance to lay her egg.

Queenie and Princess are both in the box right now. It looks like this is going to be another three egg day!

Greetings from the Flock

The royal flock of Poultry Palace...

Queen of Eggland...

Princess Lay-a...

and Duchess of Yolk...

wishes everyone a happy weekend!

Happy Friday From the Flock

Sometimes I wonder what our chickens are thinking and saying to each other...

Princess (left), Duchess (back), Queenie (front)

Princess: Is she taking our picture again?
Duchess: You know she is. I told you to take more time preening this morning.
Queenie: (moving closer to the camera) Well, I just had a dust bath and I'm looking quite lovely, if I do say so myself.

That might not be their thoughts exactly, but I'm sure they would want to wish you a happy Friday...if they could. See you next week.

It's a Hen's Life

Three weeks into chicken keeping and all is well.

We let the girls out of the palace on a regular basis. 

For now we supervise their outings. This might not protect them 100% from predators, but it makes us feel better.

Scratching and pecking goes on for a half hour or so, and then with no prodding from me...

the girls return to their living quarters, bellies full of weeds and bugs.

All that's left to do is preen and rest. Such is a hen's life at Poultry Palace and Gardens.

Duchess | The Curious One

Duchess of Yolk is curious about everything. She came right up to me the other day when I was taking her picture. She wanted a treat, but I didn't have one. I picked a nearby weed and she happily ate it from my hand.

The herb bed looked interesting to her. She tasted the oregano and nipped at the rosemary.

I thought I might have to shoo her away to save the herbs, but it was the weeds she liked best.

She called Queenie over with a cluck-cluck, "Come on up. This is where they keep the good stuff."

A weed-eating chicken is a gardener's best friend. Eat up girls, eat up!

Introducing the Royal Flock

Here they are—our three hens!



Naming the girls turned out to be easy after we decided to call our coop Poultry Palace. It seemed obvious to us that a chicken living in a palace needed to have a royal title. There should be a queen, of course, and how about a princess, and maybe a duchess, too. And then the puns just came without even trying. We couldn't help ourselves. Laugh with us or forgives us, whichever applies.

Now, on to the introductions...

This is her royal highness the Queen of Eggland. We call her Queenie for short. She's a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a brown egg layer. She was my pick for our flock. I think her feather pattern is stunning—so regal. She had to be the queen, though we're not sure she's the one ruling the roost.

Here's a picture of me holding Queenie, so you can get a sense of her size. She and our other two hens are approximately four months old. They still have a lot of growing to do. It will another two months before they start laying eggs.

Our Rhode Island Red is named Princess Lay-a. We hope she lives up to her name and lays lots of beautiful brown eggs. We call her Princess or Prissy. In typical princess fashion, she has a knack of getting her own way and we think she's calling the shots in the palace. John picked her for her beautiful coloring and classic good looks.

And then there's the Duchess of Yolk, the sweetest hen in the flock. We call her Duchess or Duchie. She's a Barred Plymouth Rock and lays brown eggs, too.

This sweet hen has a way of stealing your heart. She is very friendly (or maybe very hungry) and will readily eat out of your hand. She doesn't mind being touched and is the easiest to photograph. I believe Duchess is the one that will become our pet chicken.

And so ends the introductions (if you know what I mean). I'll be back next week with more from Poultry Palace and Gardens.